December 1, 2011

1. December 1, 2011 Last Class of the Fall Semester 

2. Blog outlines • Ian: • -Humans ignore animals (like criminals) and fail to realize that they have feelings • -Animals can develop psychological problems from isolation (which is a form of cruelty) • -African Americans were treated as objects during slavery • -We haven’t really changed in the way we treat animals and minorities • Tori: • -Both racism and speciesism involve finding differences in others and using these differences as a justification to claim superiority • -Hatred is learned • -“Children do not see differences like adults do” • -Before closing the gap between humans and non-humans, we must close the gap between humans and humans • Tiffany: • -“Just because animals do not speak English does not mean that they don’t understand feelings and emotions” • -If we make the effort, we can overcome the invisible barrier between humans and animals • -There is a natural connection between humans and animals that enables us to communicate well with each other • -Just as animals make an effort to communicate with us, we should make an equal effort to communicate with them • -We must strive for equality

3. Kian: • -“Since the time of Christian conquerors, the oppression towards animals has continued.” • -Just as there is a division between black and white communities, there is a division between the human and animal worlds • -There is a lack of understanding regarding the interconnected nature of humanity • -We must recognize all beings as eternally connected, without regard to race or species • Janie: • -Humans are easily offended by animal comparisons • -Society doesn’t completely respect animals • -Since society views animals as inferior, animal comparisons can be insulting • -“any animal that is viewed as a symbol is being insulted more than a human being compared to an animal” • Kendall: • -Racism and speciesism both involve the idea of superiority • -Society is largely ignorant to speciesism (even Microsoft word doesn’t recognize it!) • -While racism is constantly in the news, speciesism is ignored • -Negative connotations associated with comparisons of humans to animals • -We distance ourselves from nature to avoid our guilt • -“In taking away the freedom of animals we also take away our ability to find freedom in the connection with other species”

4. Brooks: • -Human beings are flawed creatures • -Humans define their worth by placing others beneath them • -“We have forgotten that they (animals) still have so much more to teach us” • -Native Americans recognized the connection between all beings and that we can all learn from each other • Amy: • -Many problems arise from superiority complexes • -People are not superior to other people or any other beings • -By calling each other by the names of our spirit animals, we are able to treat animals with more respect • -“we still often try to pretend that animals are happy in their roles” • Grace: • -“this trend towards becoming an uncaring adult seems to permeate through western culture” • -Comparing a human to an animal is considered to be an insult • -People tend to separate themselves from other humans and from animals, which causes them to lose their sense of empathy

5. Megan: • -“The human capacity for compassion should not be limited to one kind of animal.” • -Animals are no more or less capable of feeling the same things humans do • -In The Help, there was situation in which a young girl expressed her devastation in response to her mother’s action of turning her maid out of the house • -Children express emotional attachment before society knocks this trait out of them • -A horse could feel pain in a deeper way than a human because he cannot do anything to solve his own problems • Andrew: • -“Rather than language being something that separates us from animals, I think it is our feelings (expressed without language) through which we can know we are connected to animals” • -Just because an animal doesn’t verbalize his or her pain does not mean that he or she does not feel the pain • -Just as it is not morally acceptable to eat his roommate of a different race, it is not morally acceptable to eat beings of a different species • Bevin: • -Just because schools are no longer segregated and slavery has been abolished does not mean that the idea of racial superiority no longer exists • -Our connection with animals is lost when masses of animals are involved. • -“The human race needs to create meaningful relationships with individual animals and people of other races so that speciesism and racism can be eradicated.” • -We need to break down the barriers that allow us to regard cruel behavior without an emotional connection

6. Eric: • -“We have the natural tendencies to split into small communities and disregard any outsider as a lesser being.” • -We consider ourselves to be normal and judge other beings using ourselves as the norm • -We dehumanize to mentally protect ourselves • -Our upbringing influences how divided we see the world • -We learn from animals that humans aren’t the only ones who can experience love • Kelly: • -Has trouble finding a major difference between the enslavement of a human and the torture of animals • -Believed that a horse was smarter than her when she was 6 years old • -Proud to be a UT student, as its students “were, on the whole, not pro-racism, even back when racism was prevalent”

7. Agenda • Meditation • Quiz (?) • Discussion • -Objectives • -Common Themes • -Animal Insults • Award Ceremony! • Statue Walk

8. Today’s objectives • [2A2] ETHICS The second goal of the required leadership/ethics flag courses -- learn to make real-life ethical choices -- is closely related to the core purpose of the University of Texas, to transform lives for the benefit of society. It is also one of the basic education requirements of U.T.: Òhave experience in thinking about moral and ethical problems.Ó Our ethics goals are • [2A2a] To experience by analogy a little of ethical dilemma presented by Anti-Semitism, especially the Holocaust. • [2A2b] To experience by analogy a little of ethical dilemma presented by racism, especially slavery. • [2A2c] To experience more directly the ethical dilemmas presented by speciesism, especially cruelty to animals. • [2A2d]  To become aware of real-life ethical choices made daily by all of us involving cruelty to animals. • [2A2e] To return to the traditional college goals of developing character and conscience. • [2A2f] To practice replacing fear and greed with love, compassion, tolerance, and the sympathetic imagination.

9. Common themes from blogs • -Detachment  avoidance of guilt, lack of emotional connection, denial • -Superiority complex of humans  can we break it? If so, how? Do animals have a superiority complex? • -Language barrier between humans and animals • -Animal comparisons as insults  what distinguishes an animal comparison as an insult rather than a compliment?

10. Animal insults • What are some animals that you have been compared to? Were you insulted or flattered? How do you think your reaction would change to these comparisons after being in this class?

11. Award ceremony • CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE!!!

12. STATUE WALK • Off we go…